Jamestown
by MizDenton
Summary: Any conversation that begins with 'Your brother works for the F.B.I. right' never ends well. An aquaintance of Charlie's at Cal Sci comes to him for help when she learns that a family member might be breaking the law.


I would like to thank Rittenden for betaing. It was a big help.

All comments, questions, job offers, chocolate, etc... can be sent to: With the exception of the characters Jackie Smith and Dr. David Halman, I do not own any of the characters from Numb3rs. They belong to Cheryl Hutton and Nicolas Falucci, Scott-Free Productions, Paramount Pictures and CBS Television. I promise to put them all back when I'm done playing with them (including Larry, Jels). Please don't sue me, I'm poor.

Jamestown

A Numb3rs fic

by Amy Denton

"Charlie? Can I join you for lunch?" Jackie Smith asked Dr. Charlie Eppes one bright and sunny Wednesday.

His mouth full, he could only nod. He knew Jackie in passing. She was a professor in the History Department so, about the only time he saw her was one of his students was in danger of failing one of her courses, which was almost never.

They chatted for a few minutes about their students, the weather, life in general until Jackie came around to the reason for seeking him out.

"Your brother's in the F.B.I., right?" she asked.

Charlie paused, nodded and wiped his mouth with a napkin before saying "What did you do?"

Jackie had the grace to look ashamed before saying "Nothing! Can't I ask a simple question?"

"Sure but that was anything but."

She sighed and said "Dare I ask the dumb question of how obvious I was?"

"It's not that you were obvious, it's just been my experience that any conversation that begins with 'Your brother works for the F.B.I...' usually isn't...brimming with good news. Hence my question, what did you do?"  
"It's not me, it's my uncle." Jackie said.

"And?" Charlie asked.

"He's a conservator for the Jamestown recovery effort."

"And?"

"And I think he's been selling artifacts from it."

Charlie sat back in his chair, thought, then said "Okay, that's definitely a problem."

"I thought that if I could talk to your brother, I might be able to find out how much trouble he'd be facing." She sighed and said "I know, I know...I'm probably just making things worse but he's my mother's big brother and she would absolutely freak if she found out what he was doing...might be doing." She looked at Charlie and said "Please, just put me out my misery and tell me to go away."

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"Jamestown? That's way the heck on the other side of the country." Agent Don Eppes looked at his brother from across the desk in his office.

Charlie shrugged and said "So?"  
"There are a lot of FBI field offices a whole lot closer to Jamestown than here. The training center for the FBI is maybe 45 minutes from there." Don said.

"Really?"

"Really. Quantico, which is where the headquarters is, and The Historic Triangle use the same exit off the Interstate. Turn left, there's Quantico, turn right there's Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, etc." Don paused, then said "Why are you here again?"

"A co-worker of mine wanted to talk to an FBI agent."

Don frowned, then said "So, why doesn't he? We don't bite. This building is pretty easy to find."

"That's true but...uh she didn't want to just appear, she kinda hoped that maybe..." Charlie started to say.

"That maybe your brother, the FBI agent, could talk to her for a couple of minutes, calm her fears, that kind of thing?" Don finished the sentence.

"Yeah." Charlie brightened considerably. "She doesn't even have to come to the office if you don't want her to."

Don sighed. He wasn't annoyed with Charlie's request, exactly. Charlie had really helped him and his team on some tough cases. If talking to someone for a few minutes was all Charlie wanted, he could do it. He should do it. He just didn't want to be used as a prop to impress someone, especially if that someone was a woman.

"All right, all right. I'd be happy to talk to her. Have her come by the house tonight." Don said.

"Great. Thanks." Charlie replied. "Can you come by around six?"

"Sure, see you then."

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"Hey. What brings you by tonight?" Alan asked Don when Don came through the front door.

"Charlie wanted me to 'talk' to a co-worker of his." Don replied. He pulled off his necktie and stuffed it into the pocket of his suit coat. He undid the top button on his shirt and shrugged. "I couldn't say no. What's for dinner?"  
Alan returned the shrug. "I don't know. Your brother wouldn't say. All he told me was 'Don't worry about dinner.'"

"And you trust him to remember and come home with something edible?" Don asked, dropping onto the sofa next to his father.

"Yes, I do. In the same way your mother and I trusted you with the car when you were in high school." Alan replied, returning his attention to the newspaper spread out on his lap.

Don colored and let the matter drop.

A half-an-hour later, Charlie appeared with dinner and Jackie.

"Hey, Dad, Don." Charlie said, coming into the living room with her. "This is Jackie. Jackie, this is my dad, Alan and my brother, Don."

Both Don and Alan stood and shook hands with her.

"So, what did you get to eat?" Alan asked his son.

"Chinese." Charlie replied. "Can you help me in the kitchen, Dad?"

Alan nodded but said "Are you going to offer Jackie something to drink?"

"He already did." Jackie said.

"Good." Alan replied. He followed Charlie into the kitchen, leaving Jackie and Don alone.

"Please, have a seat." Don said, sitting back down.

"Okay." She sank on the nearest easy chair but only perched there. She clasped and unclasped her fingers and opened her mouth several times but said nothing.

"Charlie tells me you wanted to talk to me because I work for the F.B.I." Don said.

Jackie nodded, swallowed and finally said "My mother is going to kill me."

"Why?"

"Because my uncle is my mother's big brother and she just adores him. She'll be horrified if she finds out what he's been doing."

"And what has he been doing?"

Jackie chewed on her lip and did not respond.

Don waited for a moment, then said "Does it have something to do with Jamestown?"

She nodded, swallowed and said "I just don't know how to say it. No one in my family has ever gotten into trouble with the law." She looked down at the floor. "Not even a speeding ticket." She looked up. "And this is a whole lot worse than speeding."

He nodded. Sometimes, it was better to let the person ramble rather than try and drag the story out of them.

She looked down at her hands and said "My uncle is the head conservator of the Jamestown Recovery project. I think he's stealing artifacts from the dig and selling them." Her voice had dropped to a pitch so low that Don had to lean forward to hear her. Even then he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Pardon? Could you repeat yourself?"

She did, then fell silent, waiting for his response.

Don was silent as he digested the information she had given him. Finally, he said "What exactly do you want to know?"

"What prison should I be sending his mail to?"

His eyebrows went up. "That all depends on just how much he's stolen, what he's stolen, if he's committed any other crimes while he was stealing. Was he forced to do it or did he do it of his own free will?"

"But he would definitely go to jail?"

"Probably but I can't say without knowing the facts. The theft of artifacts is a serious crime. It's like stealing national history."

Jackie moaned and put her head in her hands. "My uncle, the jailbird." Her voice was muffled by her hands. She lifted her head and said "That should certainly liven up the holidays."

Don grinned. He couldn't help himself. Jackie's reaction was one of the tamer reactions that he had witnessed. "I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear but it is the truth."  
She sighed and said "No, it's not what I wanted to hear but it's about what I expected to hear. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I really appreciate it."

He nodded and said "You're more than welcome. I just wish I had better answers to give you."

Jackie shook her head, saying "Don't waste a moments thought on anything like that. My uncle knows damn good and well that what he's doing is wrong." She paused, then added "And he knows it's going to catch up to him too." She groaned and said "My mother is just going to...have a fit. Listen for the screams, okay? I might need your help again."

"Listen, if you would like, I could do a little research and see what your uncle would be facing. That way, if, when, he gets caught, at least you'll know what's coming and you can warn your family."

"Really? You would do that for me? You've got to have a hundred thousand other more important things to work on."

Don shrugged and said "True but this probably wouldn't take that long. I can look up the statue and see, generally, what the punishment would be. Or, you can give me his name and I can try and find out exactly what he might have done and give you a more precise idea of the crime he'd be charged with and the punishment that went with it."

Jackie thought on the offer for a long moment before reaching into her purse, pulling out her uncle's business card and handing it to Don. "When you find out something, let Charlie know and he'll be able to find me. I don't exactly what this," She waved her hands, "to be common knowledge. Not that you would do anything like that. Of course, you wouldn't."

"All right." Don replied, tucking the card into his wallet. "I should have something in the next couple of days."  
Charlie's timing was perfect. He poked his head into the living room, just as the conversation ended. "Dinner's ready." he said.

"Great." Jackie replied, standing up." I'm starved."

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The next day, in between meetings, phone calls and the requisite mountains of paperwork, Don made good on his promise to Jackie. What he found made him wish he hadn't promised her to look. If he was doing what Jackie thought he was doing, then he was headed straight for jail, after paying a hefty fine.

He shifted through the reports on his desk, looking at the information he had collected on her uncle, one Dr. David Halman. It just made no sense. Dr. Halman had no police record, he had never gotten so much as a speeding ticket. So, what would make such a law-abiding person suddenly start stealing artifacts and selling them?

If this had been a movie, instead of reality, right about then, it would be discovered that Dr. Halman was being forced to steal because the 'bad guys' were holding his family hostage, then the 'good guys' would swoop in and save the day. Unfortunately, Dr. Halman wasn't in a movie. He existed in the real world and there would be no happy ending for him.

All that was left was for Don to tell Jackie that her uncle was facing at least a year in jail and fine of $10,000. Some days, he just loved his job.

A knock on the door frame of his office made him look up from the stack of papers and saw Megan Reeves, the 'new' agent on his team, standing there.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Buy me lunch." she replied. "It's close to lunchtime and I'm hungry."

Don surpressed the smile that rose to his lips. He liked Megan, she was a good addition to his team. She also knew how to take a joke so, that made her fair game for a bit of harmless needling. "Do I look like an ATM?" he asked.

"Did I ask for money?" she replied. "I asked for your company at lunch."

"No, what you asked for was for me to buy you lunch. My company sounded like an afterthought. Of course, everyone should be so honored to have me join them for lunch." He said, with a completely straight face.

Megan rolled her eyes and said "And I bet it's Charlie that people think has the ego. You want to get lunch or not?"

Don stood, grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and said "If I'm buying, I get to chose."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Megan replied. "How is your family, by the way?"

"Good." Don replied, walking out into the main office area with her. "Dad's got a new project with the company he joined and Charlie is...I'm not quite sure how to describe this...he's doing another 'Mathematics for Idiots' course, except it's for high schoolers."

She nodded.

"I'm going to run by Cal Tech after lunch. I'm doing a favor for Charlie. We can take two cars if you'd like." He said, pushing open the glass door that lead into the hallway.

"Waste of gas. If it's all right with you, I'll wait for you in the car. Or maybe I'll see what Larry's up to." She said, referring to Charlie's mentor and friend, Dr. Larry Fleinhardt.

"Okay, it shouldn't take me long."

----------------------------------------------------

A week passed and then another and then Charlie caught the tag end of a news story about a bust at the Jamestown Rediscovered dig in Virginia.

Uh, oh. Looks like the law caught up to Jackie's uncle after all.

That very afternoon, Jackie paid him a visit. She came up behind him as he worked on an equation at the chalkboard. He was wearing headphones, listening to the music and lost in his own world. She had to tap him on the shoulder twice and then shout his name before he realized that she was there.

He turned, saw the look on her face and took off the headphones. She heard a snippet of an Beach Boys song before he turned the headphones off. He frowned and asked what was wrong before he remembered the news report and knew exactly what was wrong.

Jackie, her face contorted by sadness, sank onto the nearest desk and stiffled a sob. She blotted her eyes with a well-worn tissue and looked at the floor.

Charlie looked at her, looked at the door to his classroom, then back at her. Should he close the door or not?

"I don't care if anyone sees me like this." Jackie said, in a wobbly voice. "The entire History Department has already seen me like this."

Charlie's eyes widened. Jeez, now what? He thought. He was no good with women, especially when they were upset.

"My mother called me this morning, just after I got to work. She had to have been waiting for me to arrive. Time zones and all that." she said "My uncle's been arrested. The F.B.I. was waiting for him when at the dig site. Apparently, they've been watching him for a while."

He swallowed. He did not like where this conversation was going.

"What got him, though, according to my mother, was an anonymous they had just received."

He swallowed again.

She looked up at him and said "I have to ask, did that tip come from your brother?"

Charlie frowned. He had been expecting her to ask him something like that but not in quite that way.

"I'm not trying to...to...to...blame your brother or anything. He really helped me out. I'm just curious, I guess."

Charlie looked down at his hands for a moment, realized he was still holding the chalk and returned it to the ledge on the chalkboard. Dusting his hands off, he looked at Jackie and said "I understand what you're saying but...Don's an F.B.I. agent, he doesn't need to make anonymous tips, he can just call the field office and speak to whoever's in charge. Secondly, I, honestly, have no idea what he did with the information you gave him. He didn't say a word to me. He wouldn't anyway. Besides, you willingly talked to a federal agent about a possible crime so..."

"Anything I told him could be used in an investigation." Jackie finished the sentence for him.

"Yeah, that's about it."

She shrugged and looked back down at the floor. "I guess I just feel guilty about him being arrested." she said. "I talked to your brother more for my peace of mind than anything else."

Charlie came over and sat down on the desk next to her. "Happens all the time. Don told me once that sometimes he feels like a priest with a badge. People want to unburden themselves but they don't want to face the consequences."

Jackie nodded but did not look up. "It's just...My mother is a mess, my father is too, my grandparents are beside themselves and my other aunts and uncles don't know what to think. I feel responsible."

"You shouldn't. You didn't make your uncle steal. He's a grown man, he knew what he was doing." Charlie said.

"You're right. I know you're right, he made his decision long before I ever thought of talking to Don." She looked up at him, adding "The holiday's will never be the same in my family again."

Charlie swallowed the smile that threatened to cross his face. If Jackie's coping mechanism was gallows humor, so be it.

She stood, dabbed at her face once more with the tissue, then stuffed it in her pocket. "Do you remember what you told me when I asked if your brother was in the F.B.I.?"

He thought for a moment, then replied "Yeah, I asked what you had done."

"No, after that. After I asked how obvious I had been in asking?"

"I said any conversation that started with any variation of 'Your brother works for the F.B.I.' never ends well."

"You were right."


End file.
